squeak

[TaurusKing]

I have an annoying squeak somewhere in my left front end, 94 Taurus.. if I turn the wheel, it squeaks, push down it squeaks... I've tried using my stethoscope to narrow it down, but it's real sensitive and I can't seem to pinpoint using it.. I'm thinking possibly the strut itself is the culprit,, seeing as it happens both turning the wheel and compressing it... I was thinking of injecting some grease into the lower ball joint and the tie-rod end to see if I could eliminate those two options...anyone have any problems with doing that??? All front-end parts are tight.. I've used some wd40 on most rubber parts, swaybar links, bushings, lower ball joint bushings, etc. with no change..

[RickMN]

You can try it on the tire rod end and ball joint, but if it solves the squeak problem, then they have to be replaced. In other words, if they're squeaking that loud, grease is only a temporary fix. They're shot. The other possibility is a bad strut mount.

[shorod]

Agreed. Experienced quite a few noisy ball joints on Fords of this vintage. I narrow it down the same way, poke a small hole in the rubber boot, insert the straw from spray lithium grease, and jounce the front end a few times. If the noise changes, I've located the noisy part.

-Rod

[ilLUMINAteddriver]

I was told the squeak in my 97 was from a bad strut mount, haven't fixed it yet. I do know that I need new struts because now I've got a wheeze going over some of the floatier bumps. Could be one, could be all of the above. Try the hole-poke fix first, then move up to the more expensive fix. Good luck!